Jessica Knoblauch's bloghttp://earthjustice.org/blogs/jessica-knoblauch
enIt’s Time to Be Drought Intolerant http://earthjustice.org/blog/2015-july/it-s-time-to-be-drought-intolerant
<div class="field field--name-title field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><h1>It’s Time to Be Drought Intolerant </h1></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-submitted-by field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">By <a href="http://earthjustice.org/users/jessica-knoblauch" title="Jessica Knoblauch">Jessica Knoblauch</a> <span class="blog-date"> | Thursday, July 30, 2015</span></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-share field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style">
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<div class="field-item even"> <img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/styles/image_800x600/public/thirsty-thursday-field-drought_Pgiam_istock.jpg?itok=6ZD4xaZ0" width="800" height="600" alt="California agriculture uses about 80 percent of the state’s developed water supply" title="California agriculture uses about 80 percent of the state’s developed water supply" /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>California agriculture uses about 80 percent of the state’s developed water supply.</p>
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<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>California is in a drought fever. Judging by the plethora of billboards, store ads and news articles popping up lately, the only way to break this fever is for average Californians to make sacrifices. The messages all suggest replacing grassy lawns with low-water plants, taking shorter showers and shunning the water-guzzling almond.</p>
<p>These efforts are noble, and they do get people to think about water as a valuable resource that shouldn’t be squandered. (The Bay Area, especially, is getting into the drought-tolerant plant craze, <a href="http://earthjustice.org/blog/2015-june/succulents-and-wildflowers-leave-water-wasting-lawns-in-the-dust">as reported recently in this Earthjustice blog</a>.) </p>
<p>But with every shower skipped by a Californian, the agricultural industry breathes a huge sigh of relief. That’s because these “<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/13/california-drought-water-conservation_n_7058944.html">Little Things Californians Are Doing To Conserve During the Drought</a>,” as one <em>HuffPo</em> article recently stated, are just that—little things. Meanwhile, California agriculture uses about 80 percent of the state’s developed water supply, so little fixes meted out by individuals are mere drops in the bucket when it comes to alleviating the drought-stricken state.</p>
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<img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/sacramento-drought_Kevin-Cortopassi_flickr.jpg" alt="A brown lawn in Sacramento, California." /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">A brown lawn at a government building in Sacramento, California.</div></div></div>
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<p>Worse, when Californians like me spend all of our extra energy engaging in heated debates with our housemates about whether to flush the toilet or “let it mellow,” the opportunity to significantly affect our state’s fate goes down the drain.</p>
<p>So how does one individual solve the drought? It’s a bit of a trick question because one phone call or letter written about this issue feels as useful as planting that pretty succulent in your garden. But what if we all wrote letters or called our representatives to demand real, long-term drought solutions? Collective action like that is the heart of democracy, and though it’s not as enticing as a plant shopping spree, it forces our representatives to think beyond quick fixes and seriously reconsider how we allocate water.</p>
<p>For starters, we need to stop irrigating certain areas of the southern San Joaquin Valley. Farmers there have abandoned their fields because decades of irrigation have brought to the surface chemicals like selenium and arsenic, making the soil toxic. Yet Gov. Brown recently proposed building two giant water tunnels beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta that will “<a href="http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/an-alternative-to-the-tunnels/Content?oid=4422982">deepen the ecological mess</a>” by guaranteeing more water from northern California is poured on the toxic land. (<a href="http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/the-conversation/article28509157.html">Read more about why the tunnels are a bad idea</a>.)</p>
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<img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/almond-orchard_almond-board_usda.jpg" alt="An almond orchard in California" /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">An almond orchard in California.</div></div></div>
<div class="field field--name-field-image-credit field--type-text field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Almond Board/USDA</div></div></div>
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<p>We also need to stop growing water-intensive crops in arid landscapes, period. Water is a scarce resource in California, and it should be allocated as such. Almonds have been sliced and diced repeatedly by the media lately for their water-intensive ways. But <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2015/04/almonds_in_california_they_use_up_a_lot_of_water_but_they_deserve_a_place.html">depleting the state’s desert aquifers to grow hay and corn</a> to fatten cows also makes little sense, especially when <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2015/04/almonds_in_california_they_use_up_a_lot_of_water_but_they_deserve_a_place.html">you can raise cows in plenty of non-arid places</a>, as this <em>Slate</em> article points out.<br /><br />
Of course, California’s Big Ag industry hates these solutions because it impacts their bottom line. That’s probably why Gov. Brown shifted the focus off the industry and towards individual Californians. His administration has created billboard slogans like “Let it go” or “Turn it off,” urging taxpayers to let their lawns fade to gold.</p>
<p>The good news is that this water-saving campaign is working: residential water use <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-may-water-conservation-20150701-story.html#page=1">dropped by 29 percent in May</a>. Individuals have answered the call to make sacrifices when it comes to water; now it’s time for the agricultural industry to do the same. </p>
<h3 class="more-padding">About this series</h3>
<p><em>Thirsty Thursdays is a weekly blog series exploring the historic drought in the western United States. In the ongoing series, we’ll share expert opinions, breaking news, compelling articles and the work Earthjustice is doing to protect water resources in a time of extreme water scarcity.</em></p>
<p>Don't miss last week's post: <a href="http://earthjustice.org/blog/2015-july/who-gets-the-water-and-who-gets-hung-out-to-dry">"Who Gets the Water and Who Gets Hung Out to Dry?"</a></p></div></div></div><!--
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</div></div></div></div></div>Thu, 30 Jul 2015 17:08:38 +0000Jessica Knoblauch33067 at http://earthjustice.orgClimate Change Sparks Fire, Melts Ice in Glacier National Parkhttp://earthjustice.org/blog/2015-july/climate-change-sparks-fire-melts-ice-in-glacier-national-park
<div class="field field--name-title field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><h1>Climate Change Sparks Fire, Melts Ice in Glacier National Park</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-submitted-by field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">By <a href="http://earthjustice.org/users/jessica-knoblauch" title="Jessica Knoblauch">Jessica Knoblauch</a> <span class="blog-date"> | Wednesday, July 22, 2015</span></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-share field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style">
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<div class="field-item even"> <img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/styles/image_800x600/public/glacier-national-park-climate-ride-jk.jpg?itok=q4ayPSkH" width="800" height="600" alt="Earthjustice&amp;#039;s Jessica Knoblauch looks across a valley toward declining snowpacks in Montana&amp;#039;s Glacier National Park." title="Earthjustice&amp;#039;s Jessica Knoblauch looks across a valley toward declining snowpacks in Montana&amp;#039;s Glacier National Park." /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>Earthjustice&#039;s Jessica Knoblauch looks across a valley toward declining snowpacks in Montana&#039;s Glacier National Park.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-image-credit field--type-text field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Jessica Knoblauch/Earthjustice</div></div></div></div>
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<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>Two weeks ago, I was pedaling through the glacier-carved peaks and valleys of Glacier National Park on the Going-to-the-Sun Road as part of an inaugural fundraising event known as <a href="http://www.climateride.org/events/glacier-ride">Glacier Ride</a>. Thanks to the power of energy bars, clip-in pedals and months of intensive training, I earned a front row seat to some of the park&rsquo;s namesake glaciers.</p>
<p>An engineering marvel, the Going-to-the-Sun Road was completed in 1932 after <a href="http://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/upload/Going-to-the-Sun%20Road%20-%20An%20Engineering%20Feat.pdf">three decades of construction</a> among sheer cliffs and 60-foot snowdrifts. Biking the road is a truly exhilarating experience, heightened in part by a 3,300-foot climb in elevation on what resembles a shelf carved out of the side of a mountain. It contains little to no shoulder, and the road is the only route across the park by car or bike. (For movie trivia buffs: The road is also featured in the opening credits of <em>The Shining</em>.)</p>
<p>As I pedaled my way up the road, I passed almost every type of terrain in the park, from large glacial lakes and cedar forests to windswept alpine tundra. Once at the top, I had a panoramic view of some of the park&rsquo;s namesake glaciers.</p>
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<img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/Copy-of-P1050078.jpg" alt="Stunning views at Glacier National Park" /></p>
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<div class="field__item even">Jessica Knoblauch/Earthjustice</div>
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<p>Despite the majesty of the backdrop before me, I couldn&rsquo;t ignore one jarring fact: the glaciers I witnessed that day were mere relics of their former, grander selves. Glacier National Park <a href="http://nrmsc.usgs.gov/research/glacier_retreat.htm">contained around 150 glaciers in 1850</a>; scientists now predict that climate change will melt all of the park&#39;s remaining 25 or so glaciers by 2030. Dan Fagre, a research ecologist at the Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, part of the United States Geological Survey, says that&rsquo;s because the <a href="http://earthjustice.org/features/crown-of-the-continent-taming-the-wild-west">effects of warming are magnified</a> by two to three times in this area&#39;s mountainous, snow-capped landscapes.&nbsp;</p>
<p>But melting glaciers aren&rsquo;t the only threat that the park faces. The Reynolds Creek Wildland Fire in Glacier that began on Tuesday has <a href="http://flatheadbeacon.com/2015/07/22/hot-dry-winds-could-lead-to-explosive-growth-for-glacier-park-fire/">&nbsp;now burned almost 2,000 acres</a>. Going-to-the-Sun Road has been shut down, and thousands of tourists are scurrying to make alternate plans as smoke and ash fill the air. As the fire rages on, the <a href="http://flatheadbeacon.com/2015/07/22/hot-dry-winds-could-lead-to-explosive-growth-for-glacier-park-fire/">National Weather Service in Missoula has issued a red-flag warning</a> for the area in anticipation of critical weather conditions like strong winds and hot, dry air that could lead to explosive fire growth.</p>
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<img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/8371320_G.jpg" alt="Renolds Creek Wildland Fire" /></p>
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<div class="field__item even">The Reynolds Creek Wildland Fire</div>
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<div class="field__item even">Photo courtesy of <a href="http://www.krtv.com/story/29601505/wildfire-grows-in-glacier-closes-part-of-going-to-the-sun-road">KRTV News</a></div>
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<p>This likely won&rsquo;t be the last fire in the park this season, either. Hotter temperatures and decreased rainfall have resulted in wildfires that are more frequent across the West, and Glacier National Park is no exception.</p>
<p>The effects of climate change are as clear in Glacier as the park&rsquo;s turquoise waters, yet the drive to drill for fossil fuels remains as strong as ever. Earthjustice is <a href="http://earthjustice.org/our_work/cases/2013/supporting-suspension-of-drilling-in-badger-two-medicine">currently challenging an oil and gas drilling</a> proposal in the Badger-Two Medicine region, a wild and undeveloped area of the Lewis and Clark National Forest located between Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area. We&rsquo;re working on behalf of conservation groups in close partnership with the Blackfeet Nation, who consider it sacred land.</p>
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<img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/crude-rail-oil-train-glacier-national-park_jessica-k.jpg" alt="A train transporting oil through Glacier National Park" /></p>
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<div class="field__item even">A train transporting oil through Glacier National Park.</div>
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<div class="field__item even">Jessica Knoblauch/Earthjustice</div>
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<p>Evidence of humans in Glacier dates back more than 10,000 years, yet human activity in the past 200 years will determine the fate of one of America&rsquo;s most iconic national parks.</p>
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<span class="field-item even"><a href="/category/tags/climate-change">Climate Change</a>, <a href="/category/tags/forests">Forests</a>, <a href="/category/tags/fracking">Fracking</a>, <a href="/category/tags/gas">Gas</a>, <a href="/category/tags/oil">Oil</a>, <a href="/category/tags/public-lands">Public Lands</a></span>
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</div></div></div></div></div>Wed, 22 Jul 2015 22:24:27 +0000Jessica Knoblauch33027 at http://earthjustice.org3 Things That Won’t Solve California’s Drought http://earthjustice.org/blog/2015-july/3-things-that-won-t-solve-california-s-drought
<div class="field field--name-title field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><h1>3 Things That Won’t Solve California’s Drought </h1></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-submitted-by field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">By <a href="http://earthjustice.org/users/jessica-knoblauch" title="Jessica Knoblauch">Jessica Knoblauch</a> <span class="blog-date"> | Thursday, July 09, 2015</span></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-share field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style">
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<div class="field-item even"> <img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/styles/image_800x600/public/thirsty-thursday-faucet_Steve-Dorman_flickr.jpg?itok=E3auiOu-" width="800" height="600" alt="A spider has made this dry faucet home." title="A spider has made this dry faucet home." /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>A spider has made this dry faucet home.</p>
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<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>California’s record-breaking drought has created a new generation of greenwashed products that claim they can help ease the water crisis. Meanwhile, these products distract us from enacting real solutions to use water more efficiently and to sustainably manage this precious resource.</p>
<p>Here are my three favorite drought-washed products. Leave a comment below to tell us about products you’ve seen.</p>
<h3>1. Bottled Water</h3>
<p>By now, many people know that bottled water is <a href="http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/qbw.asp">kind of a sham</a>. In many cases, it’s no safer than tap water (and sometimes it actually <em>is </em>tap water). It’s insanely expensive compared to municipal water sources, the plastic bottle itself may contain unsafe chemicals like BPA and its carbon footprint can be ginormous, especially when the water <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/09/fiji-spin-bottle">comes from</a> far off locales like Fiji.</p>
<div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="media media-element-container media-story_image_center">
<img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/water-bottle_phloen_shutterstock.jpg" alt="Switching to a reusable water bottle is an easy way to help the planet." /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Switching to a reusable water bottle is an easy way to help the planet.</div></div></div>
<div class="field field--name-field-image-credit field--type-text field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Phloen/Shutterstock</div></div></div>
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<p>Now, thanks to a Mother Jones <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/04/starbucks-making-bank-californias-disappearing-water">investigation</a>, we can add one more drawback to the list: contributing to California’s drought. A few months back, coffee behemoth Starbucks was put to shame after reporters discovered that the company’s Ethos Water was coming straight out of the thirsty mouths of Californians. Starbucks marketed Ethos as a solution to the world’s water problems, even though the company was getting the water from Merced, a city that’s currently in an <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/04/starbucks-making-bank-californias-disappearing-water">exceptional drought</a>. Starbucks has since stopped bottling and selling water from drought-ridden California, but plenty of other brands like Aquafina and Dasani <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/08/bottled-water-california-drought">get their bottled water</a> from areas suffering from drought as well.</p>
<h3>2. Drought-Resistant Crops<h3>
</h3></h3><p>As the drought worsens, farmers across the country are desperately seeking ways to keep their crops alive. Monsanto, one of the world’s largest biotech companies, has a solution: a bio-engineered crop called Genuity DroughtGard Hybrids, “the world’s first and only drought-tolerant biotechnology trait for corn.”</p>
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<img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/corn-field_-jaboo2foto_shutterstock.jpg" alt="Corn drying in a field." /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Corn drying in a field.</div></div></div>
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<p>Though traits like “resisting drought stress” sound good, these engineered crops may be more hype than help. According to a <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/cross-bred-crops-get-fit-faster-1.15940?WT.ec_id=NATURE-20140918">study</a> in Nature, genetic engineering lags behind conventional breeding when it comes to creating drought-resistant corn. Also, engineered crops don’t address the more critical need to increase efficiency by, for example, improving irrigation methods and mulching soils to hold in moisture. </p>
<h3>3. "High Tech" Squeegees</h3>
<p>As an editor at an environmental nonprofit, I receive a lot of plugs for products that are (supposedly) good for the environment. A few months back, one such press release came through my inbox hawking a <a href="http://www.scoopy.biz/">Scoopy Condensation Squeegee</a> I might want to consider including in Earthjustice’s coverage of the California drought. For the low, low price of $24.95 (plus tax and shipping), I could ditch my conventional squeegee for … essentially the same squeegee with a water-collecting handle.</p>
<div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="media media-element-container media-story_image_center">
<img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/squegee_Photographee.eu_shutterstock.jpg" alt="Keeping your windows clean probably does not require a special squeegee." /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Keeping your windows clean probably does not require a special squeegee.</div></div></div>
<div class="field field--name-field-image-credit field--type-text field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Photographee.eu/Shutterstock</div></div></div>
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<p>Rather than tell people to drop upwards of $30 on a squeegee whose water-saving capabilities are literally a drop in the bucket, perhaps consumers should be looking at the big <a href="http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/pubs/indoor.html">water hogs of the household</a>: leaky faucets and toilets, inefficient clothes and dish washers and lush, green yards.</p>
<p>If you’d like to learn about real ways to solve the drought, check out our <a href="http://earthjustice.org/features/in-conversation-trent-orr-on-california-s-dusty-dilemma">Q&amp;A with Earthjustice attorney Trent Orr</a> who answers such burning questions as, "Should I swear off drinking almond milk for good?"</p>
<h3 class="more-padding">About this series</h3>
<p><em>Thirsty Thursdays is a weekly blog series exploring the historic drought in the western United States. In the ongoing series, we’ll share expert opinions, breaking news, compelling articles and the work Earthjustice is doing to protect water resources in a time of extreme water scarcity.</em></p>
<p>Don't miss last week's post: <a href="http://earthjustice.org/blog/2015-july/5-species-starved-for-rain">"5 Species Starved for Rain."</a></p>
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</div></div></div></div></div>Thu, 09 Jul 2015 16:59:08 +0000Jessica Knoblauch32977 at http://earthjustice.orgWill Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Away American Progress?http://earthjustice.org/blog/2015-june/will-obama-s-trans-pacific-partnership-trade-away-american-progress
<div class="field field--name-title field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><h1>Will Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Away American Progress?</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-submitted-by field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">By <a href="http://earthjustice.org/users/jessica-knoblauch" title="Jessica Knoblauch">Jessica Knoblauch</a> <span class="blog-date"> | Thursday, June 11, 2015</span></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-share field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style">
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<div class="field-item even"> <img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/styles/image_800x600/public/NAFTA_woody-wood_flickr.jpg?itok=AZQx5YuF" width="800" height="600" alt="The Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, it’s been cast as “NAFTA on steroids.”" title="The Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, it’s been cast as “NAFTA on steroids.”" /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>The Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, has been cast as “NAFTA on steroids.”</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-image-credit field--type-text field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Woody Wood/Flickr</div></div></div></div>
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<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p style="padding-left:15px; padding-right:20px;"><span style="color:#e14c28;font-family: 'alternate-gothic-no-2-d-n4','alternate-gothic-no-2-d',sans-serif; text-transform:uppercase; font-size:19px;"> Update, June 15, 2015:</span> The House of Representatives has rejected President Obama's push to expand trade negotiating power, likely preventing the sweeping Trans-Pacific Partnership from becoming law anytime soon. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/13/us/politics/obamas-trade-bills-face-tough-battle-against-house-democrats.html">Read more from the <i>New York Times</i>.</a></p>
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<p><em>This is a guest post by Sarah Jackson, former Earthjustice communications intern. Sarah is a recent graduate of San Francisco State University where she studied international relations. She is now working on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.</em></p>
<p>The fight against the largest trade deal since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will come to a head tomorrow afternoon, but you’ve likely never heard of it. That’s the point. The deal—a trade agreement between the United States and 11 Pacific Rim nations—has been crafted in secret over the past seven years.</p>
<p>Known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, it’s been cast as “NAFTA on steroids” by environmentalists, labor activists and supporters of limited government who have united in a broad coalition against the bill.</p>
<p>Despite these concerns, President Obama is seeking to fast-track the TPP, the largest trade deal in U.S. history, without a debate in Congress. If the president gets fast-track authority, whatever deal his trade representatives send to Congress will be put to a straight up or down vote, with no room for amendments. In April, supporters of the TPP in the Senate <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/trade-promotion-authority-bill-orrin-hatch-ron-wyden-117043.html">introduced a bill guaranteeing fast-track trade authority</a>, along with a matching bill in the House of Representatives. The Senate passed its bill in late May, and after weeks of tense negotiations, Republicans in the House have <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/10/politics/trade-deal-house-tpa-tpp/index.html">scheduled a final vote</a> on their version for tomorrow.</p>
<br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DGeTZ4u2jbg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Former U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills and Lori Wallach of the Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch debate the success of NAFTA.</div></div></div>
<div class="field field--name-field-image-credit field--type-text field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">PBS NewsHour/YouTube</div></div></div>
<p>The TPP covers a wide range of issues, including environmental safeguards, intellectual property rights, labor and access to medicines. Unfortunately, none of the 29 chapters of the deal under negotiation has been made public—until recently.</p>
<p>Thanks to leaked documents we know one aspect of the deal grants sweeping powers to transnational corporations that could reshape our justice system and endanger local, state and federal laws, including bans on fracking. Under the deal, foreign corporations could sue the U.S. government for regulations they say would dampen their investment “expectations,” a.k.a. profits. These cases would not be decided in court, but instead through secretive international arbitration, and the results would be automatically enforceable in U.S. courts.</p>
<p>Corporations such as Exxon Mobil and Dow Chemical have already used similar processes under other trade agreements to bring <a href="http://www.sierraclub.org/trade/trans-pacific-partnership">hundreds of cases against almost 100 governments</a>. They’ve challenged laws that require health warnings on cigarettes and ban the use of toxic chemicals, to name a few.</p>
<p>Critics are concerned that, if passed, the TPP could be a way for the fossil fuel industry to go after fracking bans. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who represents the only state to ban fracking (so far), <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/04/trans-pacific-partnership-state-laws-117127.html#.VTle9fm-1cY">wrote</a> that the TPP is “particularly worrisome” to those states with robust laws to protect public welfare. </p>
<div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="media media-element-container media-story_image_center">
<img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/TPPA-march-new-zealand_paul-allen_flickr.jpg" alt="Protesters march against the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement in New Zealand on March 7, 2015." /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Protesters march against the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement in New Zealand on March 7, 2015. View the incredible photo album <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulusthebrit/sets/72157651146816246">here.</a></div></div></div>
<div class="field field--name-field-image-credit field--type-text field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Paul Allen/Flickr</div></div></div>
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<p>His fears aren’t unfounded. Canada is currently in the midst of a lawsuit in which oil and gas developer Lone Pine Resources Inc. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/10/03/quebec-fracking-ban-lawsuit_n_4038173.html">is suing</a> the government for banning fracking in Quebec under NAFTA’s investor-state dispute settlement clause, the same provision that has caused uproar over the TPP.</p>
<p>Foreign governments aren’t the only ones that can be sued. In 1999, California placed a ban on the chemical MTBE, found in gasoline, following reports of poisoned groundwater. Methanex, the Canadian company that developed the chemical, <a href="http://earthjustice.org/features/earthjustice-opens-door-to-methanex-tribunal">challenged the ban </a> in a suit for $970 million under the same<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/26/business/trans-pacific-partnership-seen-as-door-for-foreign-suits-against-us.html?_r=0"> clause in NAFTA</a>. In 2005, the private tribunal finally dismissed the case after six years of litigation.</p>
<p>Earthjustice, along with other leading environmental and science organizations, has called on members of Congress to oppose fast-track trade authority for President Obama. Fast-tracking the TPP would prioritize corporate power over public demands, undermine local and state courts and threaten the advances we’ve made on environmental regulation. With so much at stake, Congress can’t afford to pass this trade deal without making time for meaningful—and transparent—debate. </p>
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</div></div></div></div></div>Thu, 11 Jun 2015 21:59:57 +0000Jessica Knoblauch32860 at http://earthjustice.orgCaptive Orca Swims Closer to Freedomhttp://earthjustice.org/blog/2015-march/captive-orca-swims-closer-to-freedom
<div class="field field--name-title field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><h1>Captive Orca Swims Closer to Freedom</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-submitted-by field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">By <a href="http://earthjustice.org/users/jessica-knoblauch" title="Jessica Knoblauch">Jessica Knoblauch</a> <span class="blog-date"> | Monday, March 16, 2015</span></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-share field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style">
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<div class="field-item even"> <img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/styles/image_800x600/public/orca-breech-british-columbia_doptis_shutterstock_blog.jpg?itok=bB11BBjg" width="800" height="600" alt="Recently, the federal government added a captive orca called Lolita to the endangered species list" title="Recently, the federal government added a captive orca called Lolita to the endangered species list" /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>Recently, the federal government added a captive orca called Lolita to the endangered species list.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-image-credit field--type-text field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Doptis / Shutterstock</div></div></div></div>
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<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>Recently, the federal government added a captive orca called <a href="http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/protected_species/marine_mammals/killer_whale/lolita_petition.html">Lolita to the endangered species list</a>—leaving open the possibility that Lolita may one day return to her home in Washington state waters.</p>
<p>Lolita currently resides at the Miami Seaquarium, brought there by trappers in the 1970s after she was captured along with six other orcas when they were still young enough to be trained for entertainment and sold to marine parks. More than 40 years later, Lolita remains the only surviving captive orca from those days. </p>
<p>The government’s decision to protect Lolita as a member of the endangered southern resident killer whale population could be good news for both Lolita and the imperiled population to which she belongs. The southern resident orca population ranges as far south as Monterey Bay, but spends much of its time in the protected waters of Puget Sound and the Salish Sea. Over the years, the effects of removing Lolita and other individuals from this population in the 1970s, combined with a severe decline in chinook salmon (their primary prey), toxic pollution and habitat degradation, have reduced this group of critically endangered killer whales to a mere 80 individuals.</p>
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<img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/orca-monterey-bay_Images-by-John-K_Flickr_0.jpg" alt="Orcas in Monterey Bay, Calif." /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Orcas in Monterey Bay, Calif.</div></div></div>
<div class="field field--name-field-image-credit field--type-text field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Images by John 'K' / Flickr</div></div></div>
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<p>In 2005, Earthjustice litigation succeeded in getting the southern residents protected under the Endangered Species Act. Since then, we’ve worked hard to enforce the act by protecting the orcas from further harm from toxic stormwater pollution and Navy sonar training. We’ve also continued efforts to secure an adequate supply of chinook salmon for the orcas. Last year, <a href="http://earthjustice.org/our_work/cases/2013/protecting-marine-mammals-from-navy-sonar-in-the-pacific-northwest">Earthjustice litigation</a> forced the government back to the drawing board to apply the best science and consider the harmful short and long-term effects of sonar in coastal waters from Washington state to northern California. We continue our work to turn that court ruling into much-needed protection for orcas and other whales off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and northern California. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, Lolita was not included in the original ESA listing, which prohibits the “take” of any listed species. Take is defined as harassing or harming a member of a listed species and could include harm caused in captivity. When anyone engages in activities that by their nature may harm species—such as offshore oil drilling or <a href="http://earthjustice.org/features/video-whales-and-navy-sonar">sonar testing</a>—they must get approval from the government for “incidental take” permits.</p>
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<img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/miami-seaquarim_Leonardo-Dasilva_Flickr.jpg" alt="Miami Seaquarium where Lolita (pictured) was brought after capture in the 1970s." /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Miami Seaquarium where Lolita (pictured) was brought after capture in the 1970s.</div></div></div>
<div class="field field--name-field-image-credit field--type-text field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Leonardo Dasilva / Flickr</div></div></div>
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<p>When the National Marine Fisheries Service initially suggested that returning Lolita home might be considered a “take,” Earthjustice weighed in on behalf of orca advocates and scientists to highlight that potential reintroduction into her native waters could actually benefit both Lolita and the rest of the population and urged the agency not to predetermine what’s next. In response to those comments, the agency made clear in its final rule that it would reserve judgment until it reviewed the scientific merits of specific reintroduction proposals. </p>
<p>Now that the government has listed Lolita, orca advocates are hopeful that the listing will improve her living conditions and maybe even result in her return to her home waters, where she might be accepted into her family pod or at least live out her years in retirement under human study and care in her natural habitat. In either case, she could contribute important scientific information about the role of post-reproductive females in this matriarchal population and about the potential sources of toxins in the food web. </p>
<p>While those proposals are developed, Earthjustice will continue its efforts to protect all southern resident orcas from harmful activities like <a href="http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2014/motion-filed-in-case-to-protect-pacific-whales-dolphins-from-navy-sonar">Navy training exercises</a>, while we work to restore the salmon and clean water that these orcas—and we humans—need to thrive.</p>
<p><i>To learn more about this issue, check out this podcast with Patti Goldman, Managing Attorney, where she discusses her efforts to protect the orca whales that make Puget Sound their home.</i></p>
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</div></div></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-index-page field--type-node-reference field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Index Page:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><a href="/content/ebrief-march-2015">Top Stories in March</a></div></div></div>Mon, 16 Mar 2015 23:27:04 +0000Jessica Knoblauch32456 at http://earthjustice.orgSix Things You Need to Know About the UN Climate Talks in Lima, Peruhttp://earthjustice.org/blog/2014-december/lots-to-know-about-lima
<div class="field field--name-title field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><h1>Six Things You Need to Know About the UN Climate Talks in Lima, Peru</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-submitted-by field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">By <a href="http://earthjustice.org/users/jessica-knoblauch" title="Jessica Knoblauch">Jessica Knoblauch</a> <span class="blog-date"> | Thursday, December 04, 2014</span></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-share field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style">
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<div class="field-item even"> <img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/styles/image_800x600/public/lima-people-800.jpg?itok=XQzs4kKI" width="800" height="600" alt="On the eve of the first day of COP20, the UN climate talks in Lima, a Vigil for the Climate was held near the Pentagonito where the UN talks are to be held." title="On the eve of the first day of COP20, the UN climate talks in Lima, a Vigil for the Climate was held near the Pentagonito where the UN talks are to be held." /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>On the eve of the first day of COP20, the UN climate talks in Lima, a Vigil for the Climate was held near the Pentagonito where the UN talks are to be held.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-image-credit field--type-text field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Photo courtesy of Our Voices / Flickr</div></div></div></div>
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<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>The 20th Conference of the Parties (COP20) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an acronym nightmare. It’s also a watershed moment that may just help us avoid a climate disaster. Here’s everything you need to know about the most important conference you’ve never heard of.</p>
<h3 class="more-padding">1. What’s this conference all about?</h3>
<p>Every year, members of the international community meet to negotiate steps to combat climate change, a global problem desperately in need of a global solution. Over the next two weeks, delegates from 195 countries will meet in Lima, Peru. There, they’ll hash out a draft framework that will hopefully set the stage for a major international agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions at next year’s conference in Paris.</p>
<h3 class="more-padding">2. International agreements seem so broad. Why should I care what they decide?</h3>
<p>Virtually all of the world’s scientists believe that if we don’t start slashing carbon emissions very soon, we risk locking in temperature increases that will have catastrophic climate impacts and affect every part of the globe.</p>
<p>So whether you live on the east coast or west, in a desert or a tropical island, you really should care whether the nations of the world are able to come to a significant agreement to take steps to avert a climate disaster.</p>
<h3 class="more-padding">3. This is the 20th meeeting. Why haven’t the nations of the world made more progress on climate action?</h3>
<p>Bringing together nations with wildly divergent views on responsibility for climate change and vastly different stages of development and levels of poverty to forge a deal is extremely challenging. For example, the average American citizen emits 20 times as much CO<span style="font-size:75%; line-height:75%; vertical-align:sub;">2</span> as the average Indian citizen. Up until recently, historic greenhouse gas emitters like the U.S. were unwilling to budge on climate negotiations until other countries particularly China, who are now major greenhouse gas emitters, reduced emissions as well. Meanwhile, small islands nations are watching their islands literally disappear while the big dogs argue. </p>
<h3 class="more-padding">4. Why would it be any different this year?</h3>
<p>We understand your hesitancy, especially after the <a href="http://earthjustice.org/blog/2011-december/u-s-falls-short-at-u-n-climate-conference/">disappointing talks</a> in Copenhagen in 2009 and the heartbreaking failure to pass climate legislation in the U.S.</p>
<p>There’s some reason for hope, though. For starters, the recent climate announcement by the U.S. and China to cut carbon emissions is widely believed to have opened up negotiating space and made it more difficult for other countries to drag their feet. Secondly, nations have finally set up the framework for the <a href="http://www.aida-americas.org/en/project/green-climate-fund-latin-americas-hope-relief" target="_blank">Green Climate Fund</a>, by which financial assistance can be provided by developed nations to take advantage of the vast opportunities for emissions reductions that still exist in developing nations, which are comparatively cost effective and help them avoid locking in high carbon infrastructure by leap frogging to modern low-carbon technologies. Although the money in pot thus far is still tiny compared to the $100 billion per year starting in 2020 that the US and other nation have pledged to raise it’s a hopeful start. Nations are also paying attention to opportunities for reducing the short-lived climate pollutants like black carbon, or soot, and methane that can be quickly addressed. Reduction of SLCPs would also bring huge human health benefits in contaminated cities around the globe. Finally, <a href="https://unfccc.int/files/meetings/lima_dec_2014/application/pdf/short_bio_cop20_president.pdf" target="_blank">Manuel Pulgar-Vidal</a>, a long-time friend and colleague of Earthjustice—and founder and former president of our Latin American partner organization, <a href="http://www.aida-americas.org/" target="_blank">AIDA</a>—is the President of this year’s COP. Although neither Manuel nor the Peruvian government can deliver a successful outcome on their own, having such a skilled diplomat and true environmentalist at the helm certainly helps smooth the path to a positive result.</p>
<h3 class="more-padding">5. Okay, you’ve convinced me that this is worth paying attention to. So what’s happened so far?</h3>
<ul><li><b>Opening the talks,</b> Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, laid out the high-stakes urgency of addressing climate change now. The latest IPCC report for the first time includes a carbon budget that shows how much CO<span style="font-size:75%; line-height:75%; vertical-align:sub;">2</span> the world can emit and still have a good chance at staving off the most disastrous climate change impacts. It’s sobering. The world had already used up two-thirds of the total carbon budget in 2011—and at current rates will burn through the rest in less than 30 years! And despite recent pledges from the United States, China and Europe, countries' emissions trajectories are still headed the wrong way. Pachauri added that for the best chance of avoiding climate catastrophe governments need to peak emissions, rapidly phase fossil fuels down to zero and transition to 100% renewable energy.</li>
<li><b>Germany made a major announcement</b> of its goal to cut an additional 62 million to 78 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions—about the annual output of about seven million German households. That would triple emission reductions from current levels, spreading the cuts across sectors like agriculture and automobiles. The program, which still needs to be approved by Parliament, focuses on improved energy efficiency through billions in tax breaks and other incentives.</li>
<li><b>On Wednesday,</b> the World Meteorological Organization <a href="https://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/press_releases/pr_1009_en.html" target="_blank">said Wednesday that 2014 was on track to be the warmest year on record</a>. High ocean temperatures in particular contributed to very heavy rainfall and floods in many countries and extreme drought in others, including many parts of the U.S. The evidence of climate change’s devastating impacts on human beings, livelihoods and nature is all around us. We need to act now.</li>
</ul><h3 class="more-padding">6. What's expected to happen after the conference?</h3>
<p>Next year, the nations of the world are scheduled to formally announce their pledges for action for the years after 2020. A primary task of the talks in Lima is to decide what those pledges should include. It’s not easy. Countries have hugely different levels of annual emissions, hugely different levels of development and poverty alleviation challenges, and needs for funding to transition away from dirty energy like coal to clean renewables. These differences erupted into the first major disagreement of these talks on as rich countries led by the U.S. and Switzerland demanded that references to the obligations of rich developed countries to make new commitments of finance to poor countries post-2020 should be dropped from the 2015 agreement text. </p>
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<span class="field-item even"><a href="/category/tags/black-carbon">Black Carbon</a>, <a href="/category/tags/carbon-nation">Carbon Nation</a>, <a href="/category/tags/climate-change">Climate Change</a>, <a href="/category/tags/cop17">COP17</a>, <a href="/tags/cop20">COP20</a>, <a href="/category/tags/copenhagen">Copenhagen</a>, <a href="/category/tags/obama-administration">Obama administration</a></span>
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<div class="field-collection-container clearfix"><div class="field field--name-field-submission-form field--type-field-collection field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Submission Form:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"></div></div></div>Thu, 04 Dec 2014 20:07:57 +0000Jessica Knoblauch32164 at http://earthjustice.orgPutting a Number on Dirty Energy Pollutionhttp://earthjustice.org/blog/2014-november/putting-a-number-on-dirty-energy-pollution
<div class="field field--name-title field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><h1>Putting a Number on Dirty Energy Pollution</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-submitted-by field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">By <a href="http://earthjustice.org/users/jessica-knoblauch" title="Jessica Knoblauch">Jessica Knoblauch</a> <span class="blog-date"> | Wednesday, November 05, 2014</span></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-share field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style">
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<div class="field-item even"> <img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/styles/image_800x600/public/14990358834_5882eb3799_z.jpg?itok=llC0tnLt" width="800" height="600" alt="Women at drill site" title="Two women at a drill site." /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>Two women at a drill site in Wyoming who are part of a research effort to document air pollution produced by the oil and gas industry.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-image-credit field--type-text field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Photo courtesy of Deborah Thomas (Source: Coming Clean report)</div></div></div></div>
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<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p><em>This guest blog post is written by <a href="http://www.dscej.org/index.php?option=com_contact&amp;view=contact&amp;id=1%3Amary-i-williams-med&amp;catid=12%3Acontacts&amp;Itemid=247" target="_blank">Caroline Cox</a>, research director at the <a href="http://www.ceh.org/" target="_blank">Center for Environmental Health</a>.</em></p>
<p><img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/caroline-cox-100.jpg" style="float:left; padding:7px 22px 4px 0;" alt="Caroline Cox, Research Director at the Center for Environmental Health." />Decades ago, when I was a graduate student, my advisor often said that our job as scientists was to put numbers on the obvious. Maybe it should be obvious that oil and gas production, including as it does the extraction, transport and processing of enormous quantities of hydrocarbon mixtures, will result in air pollution. However, studies that put numbers on this pollution have been rare.</p>
<p>The complexities of topography, weather and the variability in the production processes themselves make such studies difficult. Recently, <em>Environmental Health</em> <a href="http://www.ehjournal.net/content/13/1/82/abstract" target="_blank">published a new study</a> that “puts numbers” on air pollution near oil and gas infrastructure in five U.S. states and finds sobering results.</p>
<p>The study is a collaboration between 15 local, state and national nonprofit organizations. Our groups came together because we all share concerns about the potential but little studied health threats from the expansion of oil and gas operations, and in particular from hydraulic fracturing (fracking).</p>
<p>Our study is an example of community-based participatory research: the health concerns experienced by the local partners in the study were the impetus for the research. The local partners were trained to collect air samples and used their knowledge of local conditions to determine where and when to take the air samples.</p>
<p>About 40% of the samples we took contained at least one chemical at concentrations that exceeded risk levels established by either of two U.S. agencies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. The chemicals that most frequently exceeded the risk levels were benzene and formaldehyde, both known carcinogens, and hydrogen sulfide, which can cause dizziness, sore throat, labored breathing and unconsciousness. Some of the pollution levels measured were extraordinary. For example, one site found benzene at levels that were 12,000 times the safety level established by government regulators.</p>
<p>Our results may surprise those who have heard claims that natural gas from fracking is a cleaner ‘bridge fuel’ to a climate friendly future. They suggest that oil and gas operations may not be as clean as advertised, and could pose unaddressed health risks to neighboring communities.</p>
<p>Given the gaps in air quality research around oil and gas operations, those of us who helped with the study hope that it will encourage more extensive future research, especially that which uses the expertise of local communities. We also hope that it will spur more robust air pollution monitoring by government agencies, more disclosure about the chemicals used in oil and gas production, a precautionary approach to new oil and gas development, and increased investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy.</p>
<p><em>In 2012, twelve community groups, with support from a team of national organizations, decided to test the air near oil and gas development sites located in their communities. A new report from Coming Clean and Global Community Monitor, titled "Warning Signs: Toxic Air Pollution Identified and Oil and Gas Sites" provides results from community air monitoring near oil and gas development sites including fracking sites in six states (Arkansas, Colorado, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming). For more information about the report visit <a href="http://www.comingcleaninc.org/warningsigns" target="_blank">comingcleaninc.org/warningsigns</a>.</em></p>
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<span class="field-item even"><a href="/category/tags/air">Air</a>, <a href="/category/tags/clean-air-act">Clean Air Act</a>, <a href="/category/tags/gas">Gas</a>, <a href="/category/tags/oil">Oil</a></span>
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<div class="field-collection-container clearfix"><div class="field field--name-field-submission-form field--type-field-collection field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Submission Form:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"></div></div></div>Wed, 05 Nov 2014 19:23:46 +0000Jessica Knoblauch32066 at http://earthjustice.orgScrapping the Recycling Industry’s Green Imagehttp://earthjustice.org/blog/2014-october/scrapping-the-recycling-industry-s-green-image
<div class="field field--name-title field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><h1>Scrapping the Recycling Industry’s Green Image</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-submitted-by field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">By <a href="http://earthjustice.org/users/jessica-knoblauch" title="Jessica Knoblauch">Jessica Knoblauch</a> <span class="blog-date"> | Tuesday, October 21, 2014</span></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-share field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style">
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<div class="field-item even"> <img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/styles/image_800x600/public/wilmington-recycling-fire_jesse-marquez-800.jpg?itok=b5uprZC-" width="800" height="600" alt="The 2010 explosion and fire at the &amp;#039;Pick Your Part&amp;#039; junkyard in Wilmington, CA took more than 30 hours to extinguish, releasing particulate matter, dioxins and heavy metals across neighboring communities." title="The 2010 explosion and fire at the &amp;#039;Pick Your Part&amp;#039; junkyard in Wilmington, CA took more than 30 hours to extinguish, releasing particulate matter, dioxins and heavy metals across neighboring communities." /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>The 2010 explosion and fire at the &#039;Pick Your Part&#039; junkyard in Wilmington, CA took more than 30 hours to extinguish, releasing particulate matter, dioxins and heavy metals across neighboring communities.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-image-credit field--type-text field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Photo courtesy of Jesse Marquez</div></div></div></div>
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<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>Last month, I toured a scrap recycling facility as part of a weeklong conference put on by the Society of Environmental Journalists in New Orleans, Louisiana. As an Earthjustice employee who has written before about <a href="http://earthjustice.org/features/recycling-s-dark-side" target="_blank">recycling&rsquo;s dark side</a>, I was curious to hear the industry&rsquo;s take on the health impact of scrap recycling.</p>
<p>Now don&rsquo;t get me wrong&mdash;I love recycling. After all, it saves valuable resources, creates jobs and reduces landfill waste. But if done haphazardly, the crushing, melting and processing of our used goods can pollute our environment in all kinds of ways, especially if those goods happen to be the 1.5 million tons of hazardous waste created by steel, chemical, pharmaceutical and other industries each year.</p>
<p><a href="/50states/2013/jesse-marquez">Jesse Marquez</a>, an Earthjustice client and founder of the Wilmington Coalition for a Safe Environment in southern California, knows firsthand how dangerous it can be to live near a hazardous waste recycling facility. In June 2010, an explosion rocked his waterfront town after a lawnmower gas tank was allegedly punctured at the town&rsquo;s local &ldquo;Pick Your Part&rdquo; junkyard&mdash;the final resting place for many old cars, trucks and other vehicles. The fire took more than 30 hours to put out, partly because of a lack of fire hydrants and road access for firefighters.</p>
<p>As I boarded the tour bus, Marquez&rsquo;s story was definitely on my mind, but I was soon brought back to the present as the tour leader began to speak.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The recycling industry is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the country,&rdquo; began Kent Kiser, the tour leader and publisher at the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), a trade group representing the scrap industry.</p>
<p>That&rsquo;s an odd characterization, I thought, especially given that in 2008 the Bush administration passed an eleventh-hour rule that effectively eliminated federal oversight of hazardous waste recycling sites. Kiser didn&rsquo;t mention that part, but as I would come to find out after the tour, over the past two decades the recycling industry, and ISRI in particular, has played a major role in pushing to de-regulate the scrap recycling industry. In addition to exemptions from hazardous waste management requirements under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, ISRI&rsquo;s lobbying efforts paid off in 1999, after Congress passed the Superfund Recycling Equity Act, which exempts recycling facilities from any legal liability that may come from selling its goods to an irresponsible buyer. Basically this means that companies can sell their scrap to anyone they want and wash their hands of any damages that occur after the fact. The only catch is that the seller must take &ldquo;reasonable care&rdquo; in determining the environmental compliance status of the buyer.</p>
<p>As an <a href="http://www.isri.org/docs/default-source/isri-sec/caution-superfund-is-not-dead.ppt" target="_blank">ISRI PowerPoint presentation</a> makes clear, scrap shippers strongly dislike the Superfund law, which regulates our nation&rsquo;s hazardous waste sites, because it opens them up to costly lawsuits and cleanups. In order to keep them out of legal hot water and hefty financial liability, groups like ISRI do the surveying of buyer facilities and document that process for its members for a fee. Since the federal EPA never released official guidance on what &ldquo;reasonable care&rdquo; means, it&rsquo;s unknown whether the provision is sufficient to prevent environmental harm. What is known, however, is that there are currently more than 200 contaminated sites from hazardous waste recycling operations across the country, including more than 100 Superfund sites.</p>
<p>In 2009, Earthjustice, together with the Sierra Club, challenged the midnight rulemaking by the Bush administration in federal court. The lawsuit, coupled with broad-based citizen action, successfully pressured the federal EPA in 2011 into proposing changes to the hazardous waste rule, thereby reinstating some of the strict standards of the original regulations, as well as removing long-standing dangerous exemptions for many other hazardous waste recyclers, like scrap metal recyclers.</p>
<p>Since then, ISRI has fought hard to ensure that scrap metal recyclers are exempted from any new requirements while touting the industry&rsquo;s reputation as &ldquo;environmental stewards.&rdquo; Most recently, ISRI met with representatives of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and EPA in March 2014 to argue that the scrap recycling industry should not have to follow the same rules as other industries that handle hazardous waste. The industry&rsquo;s argument is essentially that recycled goods are &ldquo;products&rdquo; and not &ldquo;waste&rdquo; and therefore should not be regulated as such. Earthjustice and a whole host of other environmental and health groups disagree, arguing that exempting the scrap recycling industry from all hazardous waste management regulations since the 1990s has resulted in unsafe conditions and the release of hazardous waste, or &ldquo;products&rdquo; like particulate matter, dioxins and heavy metals. In addition, fires, spills and airborne emissions have injured fenceline communities and workers across the nation.</p>
<p>Says Earthjustice attorney Lisa Evans, who specializes in hazardous waste law, &quot;These facilities should comply with the same safeguards required of other industries handling hazardous waste. Such rules are designed to keep communities safe and prevent the creation of more Superfund sites.&nbsp; Anything less places neighborhoods and workers in danger.&quot;&nbsp;</p></div></div></div><!--
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<span class="field-item even"><a href="/category/tags/air">Air</a>, <a href="/category/tags/environmental-protection-agency">Environmental Protection Agency</a>, <a href="/category/tags/green-consumerism">green consumerism</a></span>
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<div class="field-collection-container clearfix"><div class="field field--name-field-submission-form field--type-field-collection field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Submission Form:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"></div></div></div>Tue, 21 Oct 2014 18:22:11 +0000Jessica Knoblauch32012 at http://earthjustice.orgFriday Finds: The Case of the Missing Plastichttp://earthjustice.org/blog/2014-july/friday-finds-the-case-of-the-missing-plastic
<div class="field field--name-title field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><h1>Friday Finds: The Case of the Missing Plastic</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-submitted-by field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">By <a href="http://earthjustice.org/users/jessica-knoblauch" title="Jessica Knoblauch">Jessica Knoblauch</a> <span class="blog-date"> | Thursday, July 10, 2014</span></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-share field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style">
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<div class="field-item even"> <img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/styles/image_800x600/public/4408273247_86db163ca2_z.jpg?itok=XnHZkQbh" width="800" height="600" alt="Plastic found in the ocean." title="Plastic found in the ocean." /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>Plastic found on Ocean Beach, San Francisco, Calif.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-image-credit field--type-text field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Photo courtesy of Kevin Krejci</div></div></div></div>
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<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>Have you ever dropped your phone in the water, never to find it again?</p>
<p>Well, <a href="http://news.sciencemag.org/environment/2014/06/ninety-nine-percent-oceans-plastic-missing" target="_blank">according to new research</a> out of Australia, that&rsquo;s exactly what&rsquo;s happening to 99 percent of the plastic that should be in the ocean; except, instead of one phone, we&rsquo;re talking about millions of tons of plastic phone cases, straws, water bottles and other items that plasticize our lives.&nbsp;</p>
<p>That much plastic should be easy to find in our ocean&rsquo;s waters, yet a couple of years ago when four ships set out to find this plastic, spending months trailing fine mesh nets around the world, the ships came up surprisingly light&mdash;netting only about 40,000 tons of plastic at most, <a href="http://news.sciencemag.org/environment/2014/06/ninety-nine-percent-oceans-plastic-missing" target="_blank">reports </a><em>Science</em> magazine. &nbsp;Good news, right?</p>
<p>Not exactly. Normally it would be great to not find a bunch of garbage in our oceans, but the fact remains that we know it should be there. So where is it?&nbsp;</p>
<p>Nobody really knows, but they have a few theories. One is that marine animals like fish could be eating the plastic, which could spell bad news for anyone higher up the food chain (i.e. humans). According to <em>Science </em>mag:&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>&ldquo;When plastic is floating out on the open ocean, waves and radiation from the sun can fragment it into smaller and smaller particles, until it gets so small it begins to look like fish food&mdash;especially to small lanternfish, a widespread small marine fish known to ingest plastic.&rdquo;&nbsp;</em></p>
<p>In addition to the disgusting notion that anytime you eat fish you are potentially biting into tiny fragments of plastic&mdash;floss, anyone?&mdash;the more serious concern is that you could also be ingesting toxic chemicals such as like DDT or mercury, which tend to cling to the surface of the plastic. And don&rsquo;t forget about the chemicals that plastics themselves are made of, like bisphenol A (BPA), which is used to harden plastic and has come under a lot of scrutiny over the past few years for its <a href="http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/sya-bpa/" target="_blank">suspected effects</a> on the brain, behavior and prostate gland for fetuses, infants and children. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Of course, as the various researchers interviewed in the article pointed out, it&rsquo;s possible that the plastic could be ending up in plenty other places besides fish, like on the shore or the sea floor.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Regardless of where it&rsquo;s landing, it&rsquo;s clear that our plastic consumption is wreaking havoc on the environment and on ourselves. Fortunately, some cities and states are finally taking notice. Over the past few years, <a href="http://www.surfrider.org/pages/plastic-bag-bans-fees" target="_blank">over a hundred cities</a> have passed plastic bag bans to cut down on the <a href="http://www.reuseit.com/facts-and-myths/facts-about-the-plastic-bag-pandemic.htm" target="_blank">more than 1 billion plastic bags</a> used in the U.S. In addition, Illinois recently began the first state to ban the manufacture and sale of personal care products containing synthetic plastic microbeads, which are non-biodegradable plastic particles used as exfoliants in skin care products.</p>
<p><a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-06-08/news/chi-governor-signs-bill-making-illinois-first-state-to-ban-microbeads-20140608_1_microbeads-great-lakes-products" target="_blank">According to an article</a> in the <em>Chicago Tribune</em>, preliminary studies in Lake Michigan have found millions of microbeads, which can suck up toxins and harm wildlife who ingest them. At least four other states are considering similar bills. The ban is a great step, albeit a micro-sized one, towards stopping the plasticization of our oceans.</p>
<p>Learn more about Earthjustice&rsquo;s campaign to build <a href="http://earthjustice.org/advocacy-campaigns/oceans" target="_blank">healthy, resilient and plastic-free ocean ecosystems</a>. &nbsp;</p></div></div></div><!--
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<span class="field-item even"><a href="/category/tags/friday-finds">Friday Finds</a>, <a href="/category/tags/oceans">Oceans</a></span>
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<div class="field-collection-container clearfix"><div class="field field--name-field-submission-form field--type-field-collection field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Submission Form:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"></div></div></div>Thu, 10 Jul 2014 20:43:45 +0000Jessica Knoblauch31636 at http://earthjustice.orgFriday Finds: Obama Combats Climate Change by Land, Air and Sea http://earthjustice.org/blog/2014-june/friday-finds
<div class="field field--name-title field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><h1>Friday Finds: Obama Combats Climate Change by Land, Air and Sea </h1></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-submitted-by field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">By <a href="http://earthjustice.org/users/jessica-knoblauch" title="Jessica Knoblauch">Jessica Knoblauch</a> <span class="blog-date"> | Wednesday, June 18, 2014</span></div></div></div><div class="field field--name-custom-share field--type-ds field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style">
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<div class="field-item even"> <img src="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/styles/image_800x600/public/Habitats_at_Kingman_Reef_enric-sala_800.jpg?itok=Yqj85Loc" width="800" height="600" alt="The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument is home to some of the most vibrant, healthy coral reefs in the world, such as Kingman Reef." title="The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument is home to some of the most vibrant, healthy coral reefs in the world, such as Kingman Reef." /><div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument is home to some of the most vibrant, healthy coral reefs in the world, such as Kingman Reef.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field--name-field-image-credit field--type-text field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even">Photo courtesy of Enric Sala</div></div></div></div>
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<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden"><div class="field__items"><div class="field__item even"><p>President Obama is on a bit of an environmental kick lately.</p>
<p>Just a few weeks ago, he proposed regulating carbon pollution from new power plants. This is a huge step forward in lowering greenhouse gas emissions in the air, which will then have major implications on the ground. The proposal needs to be stronger, be even as is it will generate tens of thousands of jobs and an estimated $93 billion in health and climate benefits.</p>
<p>This week, President Obama one-upped himself by announcing a plan to create the nation&rsquo;s largest-ever marine sanctuary, located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean. Under the proposal, the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument will be expanded from 87,000 square miles to nearly 782,000 square miles, <a href="http://m.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-will-propose-vast-expansion-of-pacific-ocean-marine-sanctuary/2014/06/16/f8689972-f0c6-11e3-bf76-447a5df6411f_story.html?tid=HP_lede" target="_blank">reports</a> the <em>Washington Post</em>. Described as &ldquo;the closest thing ever seen to a pristine ocean&rdquo; by Nat Geo explorer-in-residence Enric Sala, the area boasts nearly two-dozen species of marine mammals, five types of threatened sea turtles and a variety of sharks and other predatory fish s.</p>
<p>These two proposals couldn&rsquo;t have come at a better time. (Well, they <em>could </em>have come earlier, but I digress). Both proposals will go a long way in combatting climate change on multiple fronts. The first proposal, especially if it&rsquo;s strengthened, is about the future, reducing carbon emissions to slow future warming and sea level rise. The second proposal is geared more towards easing the impacts of climate change that are happening now, like ocean acidification, which is destroying coral reefs and &nbsp;marine organisms with calcium carbonate shells (think oysters and clams). The proposal declares the area off-limits to fishing, energy exploration and other harmful activities, which allows marine species time to bounce back from the battering of these stressors.</p>
<p>The United States governs more of the sea than any other country, so it&rsquo;s a big deal that Obama is finally making a real commitment to marine issues. But we&rsquo;re not the only ones making waves. In February, the President of Palau <a href="http://www.un.org/climatechange/blog/2014/02/04/facing-climate-impacts-and-overfishing-in-its-waters-palau-bans-commercial-fishing/" target="_blank">declared</a> some 200 miles around his Pacific Island country a marine sanctuary, making it off-limits to all commercial fishing. Small-island developing states like Palau are on the front lines of climate change impact, and for years, Earthjustice has been supporting Pacific Small Island Developing States and other nations in pressing governments to increase cooperation and action on oceans. In addition, the small island nation of Kiribati <a href="http://m.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-will-propose-vast-expansion-of-pacific-ocean-marine-sanctuary/2014/06/16/f8689972-f0c6-11e3-bf76-447a5df6411f_story.html?tid=HP_lede" target="_blank">recently announced</a> that it will close an area roughly the size of California to commercial fishing by the end of the year.</p>
<p>Upon making the announcement, the President of Palau pointed out that 20 years ago he along with small island countries warned that they were the window of what would eventually happen to the rest of the world. After 20 years of neglecting the signs, we are finally beginning to answer the climate&rsquo;s stress call.</p></div></div></div><!--
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<div class="field-collection-container clearfix"><div class="field field--name-field-submission-form field--type-field-collection field--label-above"><div class="field__label">Submission Form:&nbsp;</div><div class="field__items"></div></div></div>Wed, 18 Jun 2014 21:06:03 +0000Jessica Knoblauch31555 at http://earthjustice.org